(addendum
to 2005
June
20-21, 2006
Women’s
Federation for World peace, International
Middle-Eastern
Women Educating for
Peace in the World
Introduction
Affirming
the
landmark decisions of the General Assembly (GA) (52/15) and Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) (52/15) Resolutions of 1997 that proclaimed the year 2000 as
the International Year for the Culture of Peace, and the GA (53/25) Resolution
of 1998 creating the “International
Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World
(2001–2010).
Taking
into account the
considerable investment of UNESCO in the “Education for All Programme” and the
relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights
concerning the “United Nations Decade
for Human Rights Education” (1995–2004) and the extended “World Programme on Human Rights Education”
that has been launched by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
rights (OHCHR),
Recognizing
that our most commonly felt aspiration towards world peace, as noted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and many other international and regional instruments, as well as within the
cultural heritage of all religious and ethnic groups is most often exemplified
as a “global family”, which is logically and most naturally expanded from a
microcosm of that model, the family unit.
Express
concern
about constant prioritizing of resources for perfunctory relief aid strategies
over a longer-term, comprehensive investment in education and development,
Voice
alarm
that although volumes of human rights norms and mechanisms have been agreed upon
over the last 60 years, the instance of human rights violations has only
increased and intensified and incentives for the promotion of shared tasks and
responsibilities through inclusive partnerships and educational programs has not
been allotted ample human and financial resources,
Recognize
a
gap in our institutionalized
“education for peace” and “human rights learning” strategies that does not
address the potential that families built on ethical principles of
peace-building and forged with bonds of love have as a norm-setting
institution,
Note
that
it is the shared task of the United Nations, governments and all civil society
to commit themselves to the transformation needed to secure a global family
based upon common roots and shared responsibilities, willingness to give and
“live for the sake of others”, that must begin with those in positions of
authority and governance, who take on “parental” role models for our emerging
culture,
Declaration
We,
Middle Eastern Women,
Gathered
at
the Tenth WFWPI Middle Eastern Women’s Conference on “Building a Culture of
Peace in the Family: Educating for Peace in the World”, organized in Geneva,
Switzerland at the United Nations sharing the hope and expectations of all the
international community gathered here for the inauguration of the new Human
Rights Council ,
Building
upon
the deliberations of the nine previous conferences and their follow-up;
including projects, resolutions, declarations, statements and publications[1],
to realize that a culture of lasting peace and human dignity requires a basic
shift towards preventive strategies that has education
as a pillar with
special attention given to the non-formal or family–based education and it’s
role to provide an environment of security, hope and
peace,
Recognize that strong family traditions
and the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East that are conducive to
educating for culture of peace and call upon all actors, especially women to
make a renewed determination to implement these goals, beginning with each one’s
personal commitment to change her/his own attitudes and behaviors in their own
families,
Find that as mothers and preservers of life and as caretakers who consider themselves a contributing part of a global family, showing the will to overcome differences and build networks of solidarity that reach across the constructed barriers of ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender and age, commit for these said goals,
Creation of
the
And,
therefore commit ourselves
to do our utmost to see that all members of the global
family receive all the tools necessary wherein their own character and potential
can develop as they knowingly and meaningfully contribute to a culture of heart
and peace.
[1] NGO Statements; ECOSOC High Level
Segment (July, 1999), Commission on Human Rights, (2002, 2003, 2004,2005), Declarations; Nicosia Declaration
(1999), Crete Declaration (2002), Middle Eastern Women’s Declaration and Plan of
Action for a Culture of Peace(2005) Conference Reports; Women and the
Future of the Middle East (1997), The Role of Families in Creating a Peaceful
Middle East (1998), Women and the Age of Global Family (1999), Women and a
Culture of Peace (2000), Women and Dialogue among Civilizations (2001), Women’s
Role in Building World Peace through Non-Violence (2002), Women’s Role in
Building a Culture of Peace (2003), Realization of Peace in Women’s Hands:
Meeting the Challenge (2004), Creating a Culture of Peace for our Children
(2005),